The “UCF Celebrates the Arts” festival begins this weekend at downtown’s Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The eight-day annual event offers 20 free or low-cost presentations by UCF’s School of Visual Arts & Design as well as its School of Performing Arts. Community arts groups participate, too.
School of Performing Arts Director Michael Wainstein is the festival’s producer. He said this year it begins and ends with tributes to influential people, both global and local.
The festival will open with Mass: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers, by Leonard Bernstein and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. The UCF Orchestra, UCF Choirs, Theatre UCF singers and dancers and School of Performing Arts alumni will join forces for this performance. It is part of a global celebration “Leonard Bernstein at 100.”
On April 13, the university honors UCF President John C. Hitt and his wife, Martha Hitt. John Hitt is retiring after 26 years as president.